Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Darfur: Referendums

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the timing of the referendum taking place in Darfur between 11 and 13 April, in the light of the levels of violence in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they consider the impact to be of the displacement of people within Darfur on the legitimacy of the referendum taking place between 11 and 13 April.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain concerned by the timing of the Darfur referendum due to ongoing violence and the absence of a peace agreement. The continued fighting and level of civilian displacement in Jebel Marra is particularly troubling, and brings in to question the viability of holding the referendum at this time. We have raised such concerns with the Government of Sudan. We have also pressed for full humanitarian access to be granted, including at the UN Security Council and bilaterally as part our recent strategic dialogue with the Government of Sudan, led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Africa Director. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum are monitoring the situation closely.

Darfur: Referendums

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations Fact Sheet entitled "Jebel Marra Crisis Fact Sheet Issue 5, 24 March 2016" which claims that 129,000 people have been displaced from Jebel Marra in Central Darfur since January; how those people will participate in the referendum; and what steps are being taken to ensure that the Darfur referendum does not lead to further unrest and displacement of civilians.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain concerned by the timing of the Darfur referendum due to ongoing violence and the absence of a peace agreement. In Jebel Marra the continued fighting and the level of civilian displacement outlined in the UN Fact Sheet is particularly troubling, and brings in to question the viability of holding the referendum at this time. We have raised such concerns with the Government of Sudan. We have also pressed for full humanitarian access to be granted, including at the UN Security Council and bilaterally as part our recent strategic dialogue with the Government of Sudan, led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Africa Director. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum are monitoring the situation closely.

Burundi: Conflict Resolution

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to build the capacity of women in Burundi to engage in peace-building and reconciliation.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are clear that women have an essential role in peace-building and reconciliation in Burundi.The UK supports Interpeace and the Conflict Alert and Prevention Centre (Interpeace's Burundian implementing partner) in delivering a peace-building programme, contributing £170,000 in 2015/16. Interpeace’s community peace-building dialogue groups are made up of at least 30 per cent women. The UK is also one of the top four donors to the Global Acceleration Instrument (GAI). GAI was launched at the Women in Peace and Security High Level Review in 2015 and is funding the project ‘Women for Peace and Dialogue’ in Burundi.The UK will continue to look for opportunities to promote the active participation of women in peace-building and reconciliation discussions through political and/or financial support. We will also provide support to ensure women’s voices are represented in wider peace processes, negotiations and state building, including at local levels.

Burundi: Conflict Resolution

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conversations they have had with the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, General Kamalesh Sharma, about the role Commonwealth countries can play in supporting peace and development in Burundi, and what plans they have to raise that matter with the new Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland of Asthal.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK recognises the important role Commonwealth countries can play in supporting peace and development in all countries, including Burundi. Commonwealth members Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya play a particularly important role in supporting peace and development in Burundi as part of the East African Community-led dialogue with Burundi. In December 2015, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), visited Uganda and Rwanda where he highlighted the deteriorating situation in Burundi and urged regional players to take concrete steps together to find a political solution. The Parliamentary Under Secretary for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Nick Hurd), discussed the situation in Burundi with the Tanzanian Foreign Minister on 29 January.The UK did not have any conversations specifically on peace and development in Burundi with former Commonwealth Secretary-General, General Kamalesh Sharma but we will look for opportunities to discuss Burundi with the new Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon the Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC.

Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference

Lord Cashman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to ensure that the UK is represented at ministerial level during the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference in Uruguay from 13 to 15 July.

Lord Cashman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will support the key objectives of the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference that will take place in Uruguay from 13 to 15 July, which include the protection and promotion of LGBTI rights around the world.

Lord Cashman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of including the Department for International Development in discussions and representations at the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference in Uruguay from 13 to 15 July.

Lord Cashman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will support better co-ordination of financial and political support amongst governments and multilateral organisations in the advancement of the human rights of LGBTI persons at the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference in Uruguay from 13 to 15 July.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As I set out to the House on the 21 March, and in my answers of 5 April, and the noble Baroness Verma’s answer of 31 March, the British Government will send a delegation to the Global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and/or Intersex (LGBTI) Human Rights Conference taking place in Montevideo in July.The Government is clear in its belief that human rights are universal and should apply equally to all people everywhere. We are opposed to all forms of discrimination and work to uphold the rights and freedoms of LGBTI people in all circumstances. We support the key objectives of the conference: to provide an important opportunity to share information, best practice and lessons learned with partners and to discuss how to better coordinate international efforts to support the promotion and protection of the rights of LGBTI people worldwide. We are committed to working with those countries that will be represented at the conference, and others, to better coordinate work to combat discrimination and violence against LGBTI people. This forms an important part of our wider international human rights work.Precise composition of the UK delegation to the conference remains to be confirmed. With the exception of the co-hosts, the Governments of the Netherlands and Uruguay, we judge it likely that countries will be represented at official level.

Tunisia: Prisoners

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about the size of the prison population in Tunisia, in particular about alleged over-crowding in Mornaguai Prison near Tunis; and whether they will assist the government of Tunisia in processing cases and in providing defence counsel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In January 2016 the Tunisian authorities said that their prisons and detention centres were holding around 170 per cent of their capacity. The UN reported in March 2014 that Mornaguia prison was 25 per cent over its capacity. We have raised with the Tunisian authorities the importance of introducing reforms to the Penal Code. These would help address prison overcrowding. We have no current plans to assist the Government of Tunisia in processing cases or providing defence counsel: the focus of our minimum £8 million support in this financial year is on Tunisia’s transition, security capacity building, governance and the economy.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the ability of Palestinian students in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to sit their exams this year, without experiencing delays at checkpoints.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While no assessment has been made about this particular issue, we consistently urge Israel to ease movement and access restrictions across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, not least because of the impact the restrictions have on children and continuity of their education.

United Nations

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to promote operational and headquarters experience in the UN for career development in the armed forces and police.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Multinational relationships are key to the security of the UK. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) recognises and values the experience that military personnel gain from deployments and postings to multinational operations and Headquarters, including the UN. This has been demonstrated by the increase in the number of UN Staff Officer posts filled by the UK in recent years and the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review commitment to double the number of troops deployed to UN Peace Operations.Career development in the Armed Forces is based on a range of factors including such multinational deployments and postings. Relevant experience and performance from deployment to UN operations and headquarters would form part of an individual’s career assessment. Requirements for such deployments and postings are initiated and developed centrally by the MoD then apportioned to the Single Services to fill.The UK also recognises the benefits of international deployments to the police service. Through the National Police Chiefs’ Council we are encouraging police forces to consider releasing officers to undertake international roles. The newly-established Joint International Policing Hub will consider ways of incorporating international deployments into careers in the police service.

Kamal Foroughi

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 30 December 2015 (HL4261) and 2 February (HL5328), how the US and Canada have succeeded in having political prisoners in Iran freed while dual UK national Kamal Foroughi remains incarcerated.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We welcome the release of US and Canadian prisoners held in Iran. Iran has not changed its policy of not recognising dual nationality. However we continue to raise our own consular cases, including Mr Foroughi, with the Iranians at the highest levels and to urge for their release, including during Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif’s recent visit to London.

Iran: Prisoners

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 30 December 2015 (HL4261) and 2 February (HL5328), how many UK nationals or dual nationals they have succeeded in having repatriated, following incarceration by the Iranians, since 1 January.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government is not aware of any UK nationals who have been repatriated following incarceration by the Iranians in 2016. Mr Bahman Daroshafaei, a UK/Iranian dual national who was arrested in Iran in February 2016 was released on bail later that month.

Israel: Non-governmental Organisations

Lord Polak: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 10 March (HL6654), what projects are delivered by Burj Al Luqluq Youth Centre and Silwan Youth Centre that are funded through the Bilateral Programme Budget.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Bilateral Programme Budget funded two projects run by the Burj Al Luqluq and Silwan Youth Centres, both of which were completed in March 2016.The Burj Al Luqluq project built the capacity of Palestinian youth in East Jerusalem to become positive and active leaders in their communities. The project worked with 50 participants, male and female, who received training in communication, leadership and photography skills. They developed their employability and strengthened their national and cultural identities.The Silwan project provided Information technology and other equipment to create a safe environment for children and adults to conduct homework and research.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the pre-dawn raid on the Students Council office and store of Alquds University 5 April.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this specific incident with the Government of Israel.

Israel: Bedouin

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel following the large-scale home demolitions in the Bedouin refugee community of Um al Khayr in the South Hebron Hills on 6 April.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not raised this specific issue, we remain deeply concerned by Israel’s approach to demolitions and regularly raise the matter with the Israeli authorities.

Jerusalem: Religious Freedom

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the extra restrictions placed on both Muslims and Christians wanting to worship in Jerusalem this year due to the Jewish festival of Purim.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement between the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It remains difficult for Palestinians to enter East Jerusalem for religious worship. We continue to work closely with the Quartet and EU partners to call on Israel to ease access restrictions.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the air strike on Gaza on the night of 12 March on a house killing two children.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this specific issue with the Government of Israel, although we remain deeply concerned by the terrible human cost, to both sides, of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We have consistently urged both sides to take all measures to prevent the loss of civilian life, and comply with international humanitarian law.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding reports that a 12-year-old Palestinian girl from Hebron, imprisoned in Israel, has been interrogated without the presence of her parents or an attorney.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this specific incident with the Israeli government but understand from media reports that the girl involved has now been released. Israeli law grants all suspects the right to consult a lawyer but does not insist that a suspect is interrogated in the presence of a lawyer. Military law also does not allow for parents of minors held on security charges to be present during the interrogation. We have repeatedly urged the Israeli authorities to improve their handling of Palestinian children in custody and remain committed to working with Israel to address this issue.

Department for International Development

St Helena: Shipping

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans there are for the future of the RMS St Helena when it ceases to provide a shipping service between St Helena and Cape Town; and what alternative arrangements are being made to supply St Helena with goods not suitable for air transport.

Baroness Verma: St Helena Line has appointed a ship broker to handle the sale of the RMS St Helena when she is withdrawn from service in July 2016.The St Helena Government has signed a contract with AW Ship Management Ltd to commence an unsubsidised freight service between Cape Town and St Helena in June 2016.

St Helena: Aviation

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support they plan to provide to air services to and from St Helena when the new airport opens there.

Baroness Verma: As part of Her Majesty’s Government’s commitment to provide for the Overseas Territories’ reasonable assistance needs DFID will fund over the first two years any shortfall between the costs of operating the weekly service from Johannesburg and revenue from ticket sales.A revenue management strategy is being developed by the air service provider in collaboration with the St Helena Government. This will be regularly reviewed to ensure that self-sustainability is reached as soon as possible.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the call by Syria Solidarity UK and others for air drops of aid to the people of the town of Daraya.

Baroness Verma: Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a day-by-day basis. It is unacceptable and illegal to use starvation as a weapon of war. The UK has given support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid to these areas and are pushing for humanitarian access to be granted to all besieged and hard to reach places in Syria through the International Syria Support Group Humanitarian taskforce and our position in the UN Security Council.The United Nations has been unable to deliver assistance to the 4,000 people besieged by the Syrian Regime in Daraya since November 2012, despite repeated requests for permission. The UN report that humanitarian conditions there are dire and it stands ready to deliver assistance as soon as access is granted by the Syrian regime. The UN has not ruled out air drops to locations in Syria, but aid delivered by road, by UN agencies and by others who know the situation on the ground, and who can ensure it gets to those who need it most, remains the best way of getting help through. Daraya is only a few minutes’ drive from UN warehouses in Damascus.

Afghanistan: Earthquakes

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK government agencies were providing remote sensing data to detect, forecast and provide warning of the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan to the affected communities and government agencies.

Baroness Verma: The science is clear on this matter - earthquakes cannot be forecast with any degree of reliability. Remote sensing does exist, but can only operate in extremely technically sophisticated environments, and even then can only provide limited warning of a few seconds or minutes in which to respond. As such the UK Government does not provide remote sensing data to detect, forecast, and provide warning of earthquakes in Afghanistan.When it comes to other forms of natural disaster, DFID funds a resilience and disaster risk reduction programme in Afghanistan which provides £9.6m over four years (2015-18) to an NGO consortium called Afghanistan Resilience Consortium (ARC). Implementation is focused in the eight northern provinces of Afghanistan which are the most disaster prone.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

Catering and Retail Services (HL): Redundancy Pay

Lord Palmer: To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 9 November 2015 (HL3053), whether the three sous chefs who left via a voluntary exit scheme were offered voluntary redundancy pay.

Lord Laming: There have been no redundancies in House of Lords Catering and Retail Services. In June 2015 three sous chefs applied to take Voluntary Exit following a restructuring of back of house services and received a Voluntary Exit package.

Catering and Retail Services (HL): Employment Agencies

Lord Palmer: To ask the Chairman of Committees how much is the agency fee to engage three new sous chefs, as recently advertised by Berkeley Scott.

Lord Laming: The House of Lords is recruiting to fill two Sous Chef vacancies which have recently arisen. These posts have been advertised on the Parliamentary Website, The Caterer and the House of Lords external recruitment portal. No agency has been asked to recruit to these vacancies on our behalf.

House of Lords: Sanitation

Lord Palmer: To ask the Chairman of Committees why the refurbishment of the toilets outside the Cholmondeley Room has not yet been completed; and when it is expected to be completed.

Lord Laming: The works are due to be completed before June 2016. Alternative facilities are available down the corridor, which are signposted. The refurbishment of these toilets includes replacement of worn and damaged fixtures, and addressing a number of issues including drainage and ventilation. The Administration and Works Committee is received regular updates on progress.

Ministry of Defence

Military Bases: Leuchars

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount of investment (1) has been made to date, and (2) is estimated to be made, at Leuchars to equip the base for use by army units and associated personnel.

Earl Howe: To date approx £900,000 has been spent on enabling works.Overall, the plan is to spend £8.5 million at Leuchars as part of the Army Basing Programme.

RAF Lossiemouth: European Fighter Aircraft

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the cost has been to date of all Typhoon Force-related works at RAF Lossiemouth; and what is the most recent estimate of the total cost of facilitating the future operation of the Typhoon Force and the Northern Quick Reaction Alert facility at that base.

Earl Howe: £80.6 million has been committed and will be spent on Typhoon-related works at RAF Lossiemouth. The total cost of facilitating the future operation of the Typhoon Force and the Northern Quick Reaction Alert facility at that base is still being reviewed following the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announcements.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, UK citizens living in EU member states will retain all of their UK pension rights and will continue to be treated the same as if they were resident in the UK.

Baroness Altmann: The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. As set out in the Government’s White Paper: ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February, the withdrawal process is unprecedented. No country has ever used Article 50 – it is untested. There is a great deal of uncertainty about how it would work. UK citizens living in the EU currently enjoy a range of specific rights to live, to work and access to pensions, health care and public services that are only guaranteed because of EU law. There would be no requirement under EU law for these rights to be maintained if the UK left the EU.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Livestock: Antibiotics

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering banning the routine use on farms of antibiotics classified by the World Health Organisation as critically important for treating bacterial infections in people.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The legislation that controls veterinary medicines and medicated feed within the EU is currently under revision. To reflect the rising threat of antibiotic resistance the new proposed frameworks set out additional controls on antibiotics. This includes a ban on the routine preventative use of antibiotics, including those classified as critically important, something the UK supports. Negotiations on the frameworks are expected to continue until late 2017. There are no plans to significantly revise or amend the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 until the Commission’s work on the review of legislation has been completed.

Badgers

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of damage caused to the gardens of urban and rural householders by badgers in England.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Defra is not aware of any studies that quantify the extent of garden damage by badgers. Where serious damage is, or is likely to be, caused by badgers or their setts, there is provision within the legislation for action to be taken under licence. Garden damage due to foraging alone is not normally considered sufficiently serious to warrant the issue of a licence. Natural England receives around 800 licence applications per year to interfere with badger setts. Of these, just over 50% relate to damage caused by badgers but not all involve residential properties or gardens. With regard to gardens, the usual action is to exclude badgers from the sett and proof the area against further damage. There is a presumption against licensing trapping and relocating badgers on disease and animal welfare grounds.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their decision to withdraw the Draft Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock: Meat Chickens and Breeding Chickens (Revocation) (England) Order 2016, what alternative proposals they are drawing up to update existing welfare codes.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to repeal any existing statutory animal welfare codes.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government intends to retain all existing statutory animal welfare codes and is working with interested parties to ensure our guidance continues to help farmers comply with our high welfare standards.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Power Stations

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a UK power station is required to be able to make a "black start", i.e. from zero vaults and zero cycles, with no power input from the National Grid.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: National Grid procure the Black Start service from providers that have the capability to start main blocks of generation from an on-site auxiliary generator, without reliance on external site supplies. It is not a requirement for all UK power stations to have this capability. In the event of a Black Start, the service would require the provider to start up its main generator(s) and deliver power to start up sections of the National Transmission System and distribution network.

Northern Ireland Office

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 March (HL7079), concerning "parity of esteem" as specified in the Belfast Agreement 1998, whether parity of esteem is applicable to all who live in the UK.

Lord Dunlop: In the Belfast Agreement, the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in relation to the people of different traditions in Northern Ireland.

Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the competition for the post of Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland will take place.

Lord Dunlop: A competition to recruit a new Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is expected to launch in autumn 2016.

Department of Health

NHS: Finance

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the additional costs to the NHS of (1) Care Quality Commission fee increases, (2) the cost of pension changes announced in the budget as a result of re-evaluation, and (3) the decision of NHS Property Services to charge market rates for the use of NHS buildings, in each financial year from 2016–17 to 2020–21.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Government policy requires the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to move towards fully recovering the chargeable costs of regulating health and adult social care in England. The amounts that the CQC charges to providers differ depending on the cost of regulation in each sector and how close they are currently to full cost recovery. Following the Government’s Spending Review, the CQC recommended a two-year trajectory to reach full cost recovery, taking into account the level of grant-in-aid available to the organisation for 2016/17 to enable the CQC to fulfil its statutory functions. The Secretary of State consented to the CQC’s proposals. The Secretary of State also announced that the Government will make available extra funding for general practice to reflect a number of increasing cost pressures, of which increased CQC fees are a part. The Government estimates the total impact of the change in the discount rate will be an overall increase in the cost of employer contributions across the major public service pension schemes of £2 billion a year. Until the results of the next valuation of the NHS Pension Scheme, which commenced this year, are known we will not know the total impact on employer contribution rates, including the change to the discount rate announced in the Budget 2016. We expect to have the results of the current valuation by Budget 2018; the results of this valuation will set the cost employers pay from 2019/20. In regards to NHS Property Services’ charges to the National Health Service, overall, these will increase by in the region of £60 million, though the impact on individual occupiers will vary. Some increasing, and some not increasing. The Department has agreed with NHS England to meet any net increase in costs at a national level and NHS England will allocate funding to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to ensure all cost changes are fully mitigated in 2016/17. General Practitioners will receive adjustments for rental changes through the normal reimbursement arrangements. Arrangements in relation to funding adjustments for 2017/18 and beyond will be considered in conjunction with NHS England and NHS Improvement and we anticipated will be communicated by the end of the first quarter of 2016/17.